Since our last issue of Musings, we are proud to announce that Science Seekers and Classroom Connect's Connected University, through which the Museum's Seminars on Science are currently offered, won prestigious Codie Awards in their respective markets "for excellence in software and information products and services." The Codie Awards are given each year by the Software & Information Industry Association. Each award "honors leaders in the software and information industry."

Here's some information about our winners:

Science Seekers, developed in collaboration with Tom Snyder Productions, was named Best School Based Secondary Education Software. This award recognizes "the best school based education software application targeted toward students in grades 7­16." Science Seekers is a CD-ROM series that challenges students to solve today's real-world science problems, while introducing them to some of the high-tech tools used by actual scientists, including satellite imagery and computer modeling. Only one Science Seekers CD-ROM packet is needed per classroom. To learn more about Science Seekers in a past Musings feature, click here.

Connected University of Classroom Connect was named Best Online Training Program. The Museum's original Seminars on Science series is currently offered through Connected University. This Codie Award recognizes "the best product or service for the online training of adults in any market." The Seminars on Science is a series of six-week, online, investigation-based courses for science educators that are authored by the Museum's world-renowned scientists. To learn more about the Seminars on Science and Connected University in a past Musings feature, click here.

Congratulations to Science Seekers and Connected University! We hope you will check out these award-winning products.

Summer Professional Development Opportunities

At the Museum

Educators' Summer Institute: Life Sciences: Studies of Genetics, Genomics, and Genethics
July 5-7, 2001
3­8 pm -Thursday and Friday, 10-3 on Saturday
Explore the fascinating ethical, social, cultural, and medical issues surrounding the latest discoveries in the field of genomic science. Elementary grades sessions will focus on Life Cycles and Reproduction; Middle and Secondary grades will focus on Genetics and Genomics. The new exhibition, The Genomic Revolution, will be the centerpiece of the institute. Museum scientists, educators, and experienced teachers will be presenters. Participants will receive Museum memberships and curriculum resources.

To register, call 212-769-5200.

Institute Fee: $175
New Teacher Professional Development Credit Hours
For Graduate Credit (1) available from Lehman College: Additional $185 and Registration for Summer 1 on May 30 and 31, 2001 at Lehman. Course Code: ESC 789 Independent Study in Curriculum Development (1 credit; 15 hours class time)

Educators' Summer Institute on Museum Studies of World Cultures: Art, History, and Geography
July 25-27, 2001
3-8 pm Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
Learn from Anthropologists, Museum Educators, experienced teachers, and college faculty who use the Museum as a resource for developing multidisciplinary curricula in the social sciences. Participants receive Museum memberships and curriculum resources.

To register call 212-769-5200.

Institute Fee: $175
New Teacher Professional Development Credit Hours
For Graduate Credit (1) available from Lehman College: Additional $185 and Registration for Summer 2 on May 30 and 31, 2001 at Lehman. Course Code: ESC 789 Independent Study in Curriculum Development (1 credit; 15 hours class time)

The following three institutes require an application, and involve a selection process.

Hands-On Universe at the Rose Center for Earth and Space
High School Math, Science, and Technology Teachers
July 30-August 3, 2001

For application information, go to the HOU home page, or contact Jenny Greene, Rose Center Educator, at 212-313-7918, or at jgrenne@amnh.org.

Woodrow Wilson Biodiversity Commuter Institute
Middle and High School New York City Teachers
Two-week institute. July 30­August 9, 2001

First Week at PACE University; second week at AMNH. For an application, check out http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/commuter, or call 609-452-7007 in Princeton, New Jersey.

Queens College Summer Course at the AMNH
"Museums as Natural and Designed Resources for Schools" Course # 0355:771.3Q2AB

This 3 credit course begins with the Life Sciences Institute, and continues at the Museum for two additional weeks. Instructor: Dr. John Craven, Queens College.

For registration information, call 718-997-5304, EECE Graduate Office.

Special For New York City Public School Teachers

New Teacher Credit Lecture Series — Life and Earth Sciences

Are you looking to enhance your curriculum? Would you like more content-specific information? Do you need to accumulate new teacher credits? The American Museum of Natural History is offering a series of content-based lectures approved for new teacher credit that can address all three of these questions. The lectures are delivered by national experts in a variety of fields — including geology and genetics — and are designed to provide you with the most recent information from the field. Lectures are offered in the evening at the Museum, and usually last from one and half to two hours. All lectures are offered to teachers at a special rate of $5.00. To register, please call Nat Johnson at 212-769-5176. When reserving a space, please state that you are a teacher and which school you represent. Payment can be made upon arrival at the lecture. On the day of the event, please enter on 77th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue after 6:45 pm.

Lectures: Revolutionizing Medicine in the 21st Century

Doctors, scientists, and researchers explore how pioneering discoveries are profoundly changing medicine in the 21st century. The lectures explore how modern medicine expands our understanding of the complex processes of the brain, and how this understanding is leading to new directions in brain research. Each lecture focuses on a different topic:

Genetics and the Brain
Tuesday, May 1, 2001
7:00-8:30 pm (1.5 hrs.)
Richard Mayhew, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Learning and Memory
Tuesday, May 8, 2001
7:00-8:30 pm (1.5 hrs.)
Dr. Eric Kandell, Columbia University Professor, Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, and Psychiatry and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator

Development and Cognition
Tuesday, May 15, 2001
7:00-8:30 pm (1.5 hrs.)
Dr. Michael Posner, Sackler Professor of Developmental Psychobiology, Director, Sackler Institute, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Brain Imagery
Tuesday, May 22, 2001
7:00-8:30 pm (1.5 hrs.)
Dr. David Silbersweig, Co-Director, Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Director, Neuropsychiatry Program, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Associate Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Evolution and Genomics
Tuesday, June 5, 2001
7:00-8:30 pm (1.5 hrs.)
Rob DeSalle, curator in the Division of Invertebrate Zoology and of the special AMNH exhibition, The Genomic Revolution

As part of a series, the following three workshops will explore the revolutionary impact of genomic research on natural history and biodiversity, in conjunction with the AMNH special exhibition, The Genomic Revolution:

Natural History of the Genome: The Role of Genes in Nature, Extinction, Mutations, and Status
Tuesday, June 12, 2001
7:00-8:30 pm (1.5 hrs.)
Niles Eldridge, curator in the Division of Paleontology at the AMNH

Genetic Diversity and Native American/First Nations Cultural Issues Sequencing
Tuesday, June 9, 2001
7:00-8:30 pm (1.5 hrs.)
Linda Burhansstipanov, Executive Director, Native American Cancer Research Corporation

Genomic Laboratory Workshop
Wednesday, June 6 or 13, 200
7:00-9:00 pm (2 hrs.)
or Saturday, June 9 or 16, 2001
9:00­11:00 am (2 hrs.)
The genome is the complete set of instructions for making an organism. It contains the master blueprint for all cellular structures and activities for the lifetime of the cell or organism. These hands-on, adult-level introductory workshops provide a basic understanding of genes, DNA, and chromosomes. Workshops will be held in the special sequencing laboratory in the exhibition, The Genomic Revolution, and include an introductory talk followed by instruction in the methods, techniques, and procedures for DNA sequencing. Topics include biology and biochemistry of the genome, DNA modeling, gene function and databases, and how to map the genome. Participants will isolate DNA segments, perform polymerase chain reactions, and DNA sequencing. ***(This workshop will be priced based on interest. Please inquire when you make your reservation.)

Online

© AMNH

Seminars on Science The exciting Codie Award announcement for Connected University is not all we have to share about the Museum's online Seminars on Science courses for educators. New courses will soon be launching! CEUs and graduate credit hours are also available for select courses. Check out the Museum's Seminars on Science Web site for more information about specific courses, and how to register.